Acquisition of an Electrochemical Scanning Tunneling Microscope

提供资金购买具有电化学STM和原子力显微镜（AFM）功能的扫描隧道显微镜（STM）。该仪器的主要用途是用于半导体/液体界面的STM和AFM测量，尽管该大学的其他小组将使用AFM进行纳米结构材料（如纳米簇）的拓扑表征。金属/液体界面的扫描隧道显微镜在从电沉积到催化等过程中对表面的理解方面取得了重大进展。相比之下，很少有人关注半导体/液体结。在这项工作中，半导体/电解质界面将被用作表征和修饰硅表面的手段。在原子尺度上解析和操纵半导体表面的能力为半导体表面的基础研究以及在大气压和环境温度下的表面加工和微制造提供了许多独特的机会。基本兴趣的具体领域包括：电解液中化学蚀刻硅表面结构的表征，氢钝化层的化学性质，以及硅中多孔层的起始。感兴趣的技术领域包括：硅/液体界面的原位微加工和半导体表面外延层的电化学沉积。这项工作将补充由美国国家科学基金会支持的大学硅表面的现有工作。该仪器将提供以前参与上述项目的研究人员无法获得的独特测量能力。

Funds are provided for the purchase of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with electrochemical STM and atomic force microscopic (AFM) capabilities. The primary use of the instrument will be for STM and AFM measurements at semiconductor/liquid interfaces, although other groups at the University will use the AFM for topological characterization of nanostructured materials such as nanoclusters. Scanning tunneling microscopy at metal/liquid interfaces has resulted in significant advances in the understanding of surfaces in processes ranging from electrodeposition to catalysis. In contrast, very little attention has been given to semiconductor/liquid junctions. In this work, the semiconductor/electrolyte interface will be used as a means to both characterize and modify silicon surfaces. The ability to resolve and manipulate semiconductor surfaces on an atomistic scale offers a number of unique opportunities for both the fundamental study of semiconductor surfaces and for surface processing and microfabrication at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperatures. Specific areas of fundamental interest include: characterization of the surface structure of chemically etched silicon surfaces in an electrolyte, the chemistry of hydrogen passivation layers, and the initiation of porous layers in silicon. Areas of technological interest include: in situ microfabrication at the silicon/liquid interface and electrochemical deposition of epitaxial layers onto semiconductor surfaces. This work will complement existing work at the University on silicon surfaces supported by NSF. The instrument will provide unique measurement capabilities previously unavailable to the investigators involved in the above projects.